The Tale of Silyan

Name: The Tale of Silyan
Genre: Documentary
Released: November 28, 2025
Duration: 80 min
Rating: 84

2025

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Universal acclaim based on 11 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

National Geographic Documentary Films | Release Date: November 28, 2025 | Not Rated

Summary: A Macedonian folktale comes to life when a wounded white stork is rescued from a landfill by a down-on-his luck farmer, transforming both of their lives for the better.

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 80 min

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Critic Reviews

100

RogerEbert.com Carlos Aguilar

Nov 26, 2025

The Tale of Silyan functions as a dialect between old-world wisdom and modern socioeconomic realities, between the natural realm and the worries of mankind; it’s both spiritual and humanist, about forgiveness and adaptability, and makes a case for holding on to what you’ve always known to fend off the illusion of progress. Read full review

IndieWire Christian Blauvelt

Nov 5, 2025

This is a filmmaker capable of glimpsing both an instant — and the eternal. Read full review

Sheri Linden

Nov 5, 2025

An absolute charmer, The Tale of Silyan is an affecting look at the human-avian bond, with all its mysteries, warmth and ungainly practicalities. Read full review

Next Best Picture Daniel Howat

Nov 5, 2025

The Tale of Silyan becomes not just a portrait of one man’s endurance but a testament to human resilience everywhere. Blending myth and realism with exquisite sensitivity, Kotevska crafts a work of rare poetic power, a film that observes, listens, and ultimately illuminates the quiet, stubborn beauty of life itself. Read full review

Alissa Wilkinson

Dec 3, 2025

Some scenes are remarkably intimate — Nikola in his house on a stormy night drying off the stork, who falls asleep on his shoulder — and some are sweeping, which makes it an amazing portrait of a place on many scales. Read full review

The Times Kevin Maher

Dec 12, 2025

Arguments will rage about how much of this is staged and how much captured. The film-makers have labelled the film “a documentary fable” and that works for me. It’s that place where Ken Loach and David Attenborough meet. In the best possible sense. Read full review

The Guardian Leslie Felperin

Dec 8, 2025

Kotevska depicts the growing bond between man and bird with warmth and humour, and while the musical score is a bit on the sappy side, there are enough drolly astringent touches to make this cockle-warming family viewing, if you have a family that likes stories of unhappy agrarian workers. Read full review

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